The question of who would play Tim Walz and Doug Emhoff on “Saturday Night Live” was answered immediately on Saturday night as the sketch comedy series kicked off its 50th season.
Jim Gaffigan joined Maya Rudolph in the season premiere cold open as the affable Minnesota Governor and Harris’ running mate, while Andy Samberg appeared as the Second Gentleman. Also, Dana Carvey debuted his Joe Biden impression on “SNL.”
“SNL” cast member James Austin Johnson returned as Donald Trump, and Bowen Yang stepped in as his running mate, JD Vance. Andrew Dismukes played journalist David Muir and cracked a joke about the ABC News debate being “biased toward the Democrats, which … duh.”
In the sketch, Rudolph brought back America’s “fun aunt,” aka the “Funt.” “The Funt has been rebooted,” Rudolph said. “2 Funt, 2 Furious.” As Walz, Gaffigan quipped: “In Minnesota we have a saying: ‘Mind your damn business.’ We also have another saying in Minnesota: ‘My nuts froze to the park bench.”
As Emhoff, Samberg deemed himself the “Second Gentlemensch” and made a joke about decorating the White House for Christmas: “The theme is Hanukkah.”
Carvey played a stuttering, confused Biden, quipping, “A lot of people forget I’m president. Even me!” After Rudolph thanked “J’Biden” for “putting the country first and for handing over the reins,” Carvey said, “I didn’t want to! They made me.”
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Soon after Harris announced Walz as her running mate, people began dream-casting the role on “SNL” While Gaffigan and Steve Martin were two of the most-repeated names, Martin said in an interview that “SNL” boss Lorne Michaels called him with an offer to play Walz on the show. Martin turned it down: “I said, ‘Lorne, I’m not an impressionist. You need someone who can really nail the guy.’ I was picked because I have gray hair and glasses.”
Emhoff was previously portrayed by Martin Short in a Passover-themed sketch from 2021. In an August 2024 with Esquire, Emhoff said that “SNL” needs a “good Doug character” leading up to the election. “I’m thinking Hugh Jackman, Ryan Reynolds, Chris Hemsworth. You know, people who look exactly like me,” he joked.
Samberg was a cast member on “SNL” from 2005 to 2012 but has not made an appearance on the show since 2018. (He only hosted once after his tenure, in 2014.)
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Rudolph’s return to “Saturday Night Live” as Vice President Harris was announced in July, just a week after she announced her bid for the presidency following Joe Biden’s dropping out of the race. Rudolph first played Harris on “SNL” in December 2019, winning the Emmy for guest actress in a comedy series despite only having a few lines in a presidential debate sketch. She returned throughout the 2020 election cycle to play Harris alongside Jim Carrey’s Biden.
An “SNL” mainstay from 2000 to 2007, Rudolph played Harris again when she hosted the series in March 2021, which earned her yet another Emmy for guest actress in a comedy series. (She was nominated again for her latest hosting stint on May 11, 2024.)
Rudolph broke down how she crafted her version of Harris in her Variety cover story in September. “I said, ‘When I see her, I see her having fun,’” she said. “And so the fictional Kamala that we created tapped into her fun. And then [‘SNL’ producer] Steve Higgins said to me that his wife called her a ‘fun aunt,’ and we were laughing at how that sounds like ‘funt.’ We just went from there. That was the moment where you realize, ‘Oh, now I know how to do this.’”
“Saturday Night Live” kicked off its 50th season on Sept. 28 with host Jean Smart and musical guest Jelly Roll. The iconic sketch comedy series will celebrate its big anniversary with a live primetime special on Feb. 16. The series airs on NBC at 11:30 p.m. ET and streams on Peacock.